Jade Ring's "Dear Sweetie Belle" continuity is an interlocking set of fanfics showcasing looks into Equestria's past, self-discovery and romantic drama (or sometimes not) to keep ponies occupied in the present...and as for the future? Let's just say...

"Lost in the Night": There's a strange, powerful attraction between Canterlot Castle's captain of the guard and a certain princess of the night. What will happen when the two give in and lose themselves to the power of lust?

"Dear Sweetie Belle": After an accident robs them of their parents, Rarity writes Sweetie Belle a letter laying bare a secret kept all the little unicorn's life.

"Dear Applebloom": Following Rarity's example, Applejack writes her little sister a letter. While Rarity's letter revealed the truth of Sweetie Belle's origins, Applejack's letter will shed light on the greatest unanswered mystery of the Apple family: what happened to Applebloom's parents?

"The Sin of Envy, or a Mother's Love": Years after the events of "Dear Sweetie Belle", Rarity convinces herself that her not-so-little-anymore Belle is stealing her beauty. What lengths will Rarity go to in order to take back what is rightfully hers?

Morning Glory: The morning after a wild wedding reception, a number of couples awaken and must face the paths life has set them on.

"Paternally Yours": Everypony has to grow up sometime. Now a teenager, Sweetie Belle ventures to the Fillydelphia Academy of Music in order to start a search of self-discovery. Sequel to "Dear Sweetie Belle".

"Dear Scootaloo": Inspired by Rarity and Applejack's letters, Rainbow Dash writes her biggest fan a letter of her own that will shed light not only on Scootaloo's origins, but on Rainbow Dash's as well.

"Sweet Dreams": While many miles from his home in Ponyville, the only respite Caramel has is his memories and fantasies of a certain pink earth pony. Will a certain princess of the night be able to lend a helping hoof in reuniting the long-distance lovers? Sequel to Morning Glory.

Phases of the Moon: Princess Luna's words regarding her past lovers have driven Shining Armor mad ever since she first uttered them when their affair began. Who were they, and how did they come to be consorts to the Princess of the Night? Shining Armor's quest for the answers leads him to uncover much more than he was ever expecting: hidden histories and origins, ancient conspiracies, and secrets that could very well change Equestria forever. Sequel to "Lost in the Night".

"Can You Read My Mind?": Applejack and Rainbow Dash go on their first date. Was their drunken fling a one night thing, or is there something deeper between them? Sequel to Morning Glory.

"Apple Family Secrets": Granny Smith passes away and leaves Applejack a strange box in her will. Inside the box is a journal that's been passed down through the Apple Family for generations. The journal contains all the great secrets of the Apples... including a secret transgression that has been kept hidden for close to a century. It is a secret that will shake Equestria to the very core... and set the eldest Apple daughter on her way to a greater destiny than she could ever imagine. Sequel to "Dear Applebloom" and Phases of the Moon.

What's Done in the Dark...: Shining Armor believes that his troubles are over; his beloved Cadance is soon to give birth to their first foal and his affair with Princess Luna has cooled off considerably as her own pregnancy enters its last stages. Princess Luna is at the end of her rope; Shining Armor still has no idea that he is the father of the foal growing inside her and his clumsy gallantry is making her genuinely fall in love with him. Both will soon be faced with one of the unquestioned absolutes of the universe...what's done in the dark will be brought to the light. Sequel to Phases of the Moon.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Dream Warriors": The Cutie Mark Crusaders are growing up, their days spent dealing with the problems facing fillies on the cusp of marehood; school, boys, and nightmares about a ghost from their collective past. Only with the help of a certain Princess of the Night can the three friends become what they need to be to destroy the evil that's haunted them once and for all... CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS DREAM WARRIORS! Sequel to the "Dear CMC" trilogy.

Let It Snow: Several sweet and romantic drabbles set on one snowy Hearth's Warming Eve in Ponyville. Sequel to Morning Glory.

"Suddenly, Spikey": Spike tries to console Rarity after she gets stood up...again. Will his words finally make her see the light? Prequel to Morning Glory; paired with the non-canon FlashLight short "Just a Glimpse".

The King of Lies: It is said that when a great sin is committed, the Devil comes calling. This time, the Devil has been drawn to Equestria and he calls himself Belial. The pure souls of the Equestrians are what he desires... but he is nothing if not a good sport. He will give their heroes a chance to save them. He offers the Mane 6 the chance to play a game. Each will be tested with a vision of the future. Some visions are truth. Some visions are lies. If all see true, then Equestria is spared. If even one fails... then all belongs to the King of Lies. Sequel to "The Sin of Envy".

"Sweetie and Dimmy": Sweetie Belle volunteers to foal-sit her young relative Diminuendo, but Dimmy starts being distant towards her almost immediately. Can Sweetie Belle break down the walls he puts up, or is this relationship over before it can begin? And why is Dimmy acting so distant anyway? Sequel to "Paternally Yours".

The Changelings Have a King: Since her defeat on the day of the Royal Wedding, Queen Chrysalis has plotted and planned her revenge. Using ancient Changeling magic and a very valuable captive, she creates the ultimate weapon; a life-form capable of granting her unbelievable power and allowing her species to continue. The first in a trilogy that will conclude the continuity.

"Branches of the Hearth's Warming Tree": Hearth's Warming is a time to gather the ones you love, congregate around a decorated tree, and share in the magic that is a family's love. Join some of your favorite ponies as they learn exactly what familial love means. Sequel to Let It Snow.

Arc Welding: The CMC and Shining/Luna plots, as well as the romantic plots set up by Morning Glory, originated as separate stories which Jade found fit together. He also attempted to work in another short fic, "An Oral History of the Rise of the New Lunar Republic", but that didn't work out.

In "Cutie Mark Crusaders Dream Warriors", Sweetie is offhandedly mentioned to have dated Twist, while at the present time she is in a relationship with Button Mash. She was also previously seen in a relationship with Featherweight.

Big Bad: Despite only appearing in the letter flashbacks, Feather Duster is basically this for the "Dear Cutie Mark Crusaders" trilogy, owing to the trauma his vindictive actions caused to the CMC's families and the subsequent effect on their lives. He cements this position in the "epilogue" "Cutie Mark Crusaders Dream Warriors", finally appearing in the present before finally being Killed Off for Real.

Big Bad Duumvirate: In The Changelings Have a King, Chrysalis and Carapace (a.k.a. the transformed Prince Blueblood), the eponymous king, are nominally this, overseeing the management of the hive and the planned invasion of Equestria. That said, Carapace is much more The Heavy, taking the lead in both forming and carrying out the plan, while Chrysalis seems more concerned with her new brood (and it's hinted that Carapace is isolating and manipulating her).

Cerebus Syndrome: The early entries aren't exactly fluff, delving into familial and romantic drama, but the overarching story gets a lot more foreboding starting with the introduction of Clover's prophecy at the end of Phases of the Moon.

Commitment Issues: Bon Bon broke up with Lyra due to the latter's insistence that a marriage wouldn't work out, based on the experiences of her parents and friends back in Canterlot. When Lyra sees at Fluttershy and Big Mac's wedding how different the love visible there is from those prior instances- and realizes that the two of them feel the same sort of devotion- they readily give it another go.

Trixie and Cheerilee reference word for word having done this in Morning Glory, Trixie apparently simply due to feeling uncomfortable being with the other ponies at Fluttershy and Big Macintosh's wedding reception (despite having been hired to entertain the foals), and Cheerilee due to losing Big Mac to Fluttershy.

Dash and Caramel on the anniversary of Pinkie's death.

Eye Scream: In What's Done in the Dark..., Cadance/the Crystal Empress rips out Brother Veritas's eyes to make him confess what he knows about Shining Armor and Luna's relationship.

Fantastic Racism: Crescendo dismissively refers to Spike as a "lizard"; even when accounting for his jealousy over Spike's intended proposal to Rarity due to his own recurring feelings for the latter, his contempt is palpable.

Götterdämmerung: Clover the Clever's dying prophecy specifically mentions "the Twilight of the Gods" as the end of Celestia and Luna's reign. Needless to say, Twilight Sparkle is implied to have something to do with it.

Grand Theft Me: Feather Duster's final gambit is to take over Scootaloo's body and use it to murder Rainbow Dash.

Innocently Insensitive: Rarity's old roommate Shining Star seemed to think suggesting going to a party was enough to cheer her up- not knowing that the reason for her being upset was having gotten pregnant at the last one they went to. Reallybad timing.

Parental Abandonment: Some pegasi (much like the Spartans) abandon their foals for appearing too weak or sickly. This seems to have happened to Fluttershy, Derpy, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Dash always preferred to think her parents had died and made sure she would be left in good hooves, making it very difficult at first to accept the evidence that Scootaloo is her sister.

Polyamory: Referred to as a common past practice. "Herding" was particularly common earth ponies, though according to Celestia they also led the way in shunning the practice in more recent times. It's still legal, though, and Luna decides to resolve her Love Triangle with Shining Armor and Cadance this way. Cheerilee also suggests it to Big Macintosh, who is far less keen on the idea.

Real After All: Santa Hooves, who used to be a member of the same Guild as Time Turner.

Revised Ending: "The Sin of Envy" originally led into another chapter focusing on Twilight, but that story idea (Twilight having a nightmare about becoming an alicorn and destroying everything around her) was rendered redundant, so the cliffhanger was reworked to lead directly into The King of Lies.

Running Gag: It's noted multiple times that the Apple family seem to share a fondness for pegasi.

Sadistic Choice: Feather Duster presents Rainbow Dash with one in the climax of the "Dear Scootaloo" flashback: save foal Scootaloo (whom he had tossed off a cloud) or stop him from unleashing a cataclysmic storm. Fortunately, he vastly underestimated her speed.

Superpowered Evil Side: Twilight's research indicates that all alicorns are vulnerable to this if they swing too far to an extreme of the ideal or magic they are meant to personify, explaining Nightmare Moon. It is also implied Celestia went through this during Luna's exile. Cadance forms one, the Crystal Empress, once she learns of Shining Armor and Luna's affair.

Teen Pregnancy: Borderline example with Rarity, as, while she old enough to attend school in another city, she had just recently started fashion school and was in no way prepared to deal with a foal on her own.

Villains Want Mercy: Feather Duster is consistently quick to switch from gloating over the pain he has caused to begging his would-be victims to spare his sorry hide.

We Will Meet Again: Feather Duster vows revenge after the events described in "Dear Applebloom" and "Dear Scootaloo", and not even being vaporized by a sonic rainboom keeps him from following through.

Whole Episode Flashback: "Dear Sweetie Belle", "Dear Applebloom" and "Dear Scootaloo", as one might guess, center around letters written to the Cutie Mark Crusaders from their sisters (surrogate or otherwise) explaining their pasts.

Would Hurt a Child: Feather Duster had no qualms about firebombing an orphanage and tossing foal Scootaloo off a cloud.

Younger Than They Look: Crescendo's gray mane is just from a misfired spell, and his glasses a temporary measure following surgery. They are what keep Sweetie from realizing at first that he is her father.

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